Through The Bible in a Year - October 28, 2026
“…It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment. So that you may [be]… filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” -Philippians 1:9-11
Paul's ultimate desire is that believers would be filled with the fruit of righteousness — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. This is not a call to a daily white-knuckle moral effort that we hope against hope will be sufficient to get us into heaven. Paul is careful to say this fruit “comes through Jesus Christ.”
God’s fruit grows in the soil of grace as Christ's resurrection power works in us, not only to pardon us from sin, but also to empower us for honoring Him. Our hope is not in our sufficiency but in Christ’s provision. We work with freedom and power to honor Him because we are so well rested in his grace, not because we are so much intimidated by His judgment of our faults.
A story from one church tells of a teenage girl, deeply wounded by abuse and addiction in her home, who carried scars from years of self-harm. Over a period of years, as she encountered God's unfailing love in a church that would not judge or reject her, those scars became — in her own words to her peers — reminders of the scars Christ bore for her. She eventually stood before dozens of peers not only to share her pain but to say she had forgiven her parents and everyone who hurt her. The fruit of grace in her heart became the power of grace in her life to break free of resentment and rebellion.
That is the fruit of righteousness Paul is describing: not a performance for approval, but a transformed life so evidently not the believer's own doing that it becomes, unmistakably, a testimony to God's grace and glory.
RESPOND: Is there an area of your life where you've believed real change is impossible — an old pattern, wound, or addiction? What would it mean to actually believe “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” in that part of your life?
Think of someone whose transformed life has pointed you toward God's gracious provision rather than their own effort. What made that testimony credible and powerful for you? Ask God today, specifically, to do a similar work in your life by his grace and for his glory. Trust that he will love you no more and no less on the basis of your performance. Then, rest in the assurance of His grace, knowing that you are most strengthened for the battle against past hurt or sin when you are well rested in Him. Christ's power is at work in you. Christ’s grace is sufficient for you. Believe that, by his grace, tomorrow can be different from yesterday, and let the grace of God for you become the power of God in you.
PRAYER: Father, thank You that the fruit of righteousness in my life comes through Jesus Christ, not my own strength. Where I've believed change is impossible, remind me that real change is possible in You. Help me to believe that your pardon and power are greater than all my sin and pain, so that the grace of God for me becomes the power of God in me. In Jesus' name, amen.